Hardships Unnumbered
by VampedVixen
Summary: Things are not well in Sunnydale. Willow, Xander, and most of the citizens of the world have been turned into vampires. This is a new age of darkness. And only a few brave souls remain. Who will win this war between good and evil?


Hardships Unnumbered  
Evil Willow was dressed to kill, literally, in her favorite leather outfit; walking the darkened streets like she belonged there, and in a way she did. Her and the other undead demons held the deed to the small Californian town, and much of the world, too. The age of the vampire had come, and they were living in a twisted gothic paradise.   
Walking up to the old decrepit Sunnydale High School, the red head spotted another vampire. Her lover.   
  
"You went out without me," She sounded very disappointed and depressed. It was customary for Xander to leave without her, but it still hurt her.   
  
"Sorry, Willow, you were sleeping and I was hungry," Xander smiled as he looked at her, with her shirt clinging to her breasts she looked so sexy. He smiled. She belonged to him, in their lives it took them years to finally get together, but now in their deaths they would spend the rest of forever together.   
  
"But we always do the killing together," she half whined. It was true, they considered it a form of foreplay to drink of the same body.   
  
Xander was about to speak when they heard a sound behind them, coming from the entrance of the school. Footsteps. Human footsteps.   
  
They turned and put on their vampire faces. Out of the school came a blond-haired, British vampire. He was carrying a wooden stake and accompanied by the slayer. She had grown up a lot since her high school days, but still visited the building because she kept a hidden reserve of slaying supplies there.   
  
Willow hissed at her. "Let's go play, Xander." She pleaded.   
  
"Ok, Willow," Xander touched her face, caressing it. "I'm still a little hungry anyway."   
  
* * *  
  
"Ever since the new master came to town this place has gone to hell," Buffy, the slayer, remarked, while walking down the school cement steps. She was especially upset tonight because one more friend of hers had died, and turned, leaving Buffy to do the whole slaying thing on him.   
  
"Well, we're gonna bring it down to earth, aren't we luv?" Spike asked and kissed her. They had come together to stop the vampires destruction of the human race. Spike, as he had found, had a soft side for the humans. He had an especially soft side for the human they called Buffy Summers, the slayer, his love. "Here comes trouble," he pointed to Willow and Xander, the master's favorite vamps, and the most dangerous. After they turned they had been responsible for the deaths of many.   
  
"Oh look it's the slayer," Willow commented when she got near Spike and Buffy. The slayer and her British boyfriend glared at Willow and Xander.   
  
"Yeah, Will, it's the pathetic weakling they call the slayer." Xander looked at Buffy, almost taking pity in her humanity. "How's the slayin' going, Buff?" He said nicely but it was only sarcasm.   
  
For a moment Buffy remembered the good old days when she and Xander worked together. When they were what Xander had once called 'The Scooby Gang'.   
  
"Why do you care? Oh, that's right you don't," Buffy returned the banter, just as sarcastically. "Xander, up till this time I didn't dust you because of a memory of someone I once knew, that ends today." She held up her wooden stake. Spike did the same, ready to back her up.   
  
"Oh, you must mean Xander, the geek of Sunnydale. I got tired of that life. All the good-doing, makes you sick to your stomach after awhile. Plus always taking a second seat to the 'all powerful slayer'. You're not so powerful now are you? With no slayerettes, no watcher, no Angel." He spoke the words with so much hate in his voice.   
  
Buffy felt like she was slapped in the face. She always felt that way when she came face to face with her old friends.   
  
"Look at this world," Xander said pointing to the streets that were deserted and the building that looked like they were in a war zone, which in a way they were. It was a horrible sight. "There's no way you can save it."   
  
Buffy was visible upset. Spike tugged at her arm. "Let's get out of here, luv," he whispered in her ear. She nodded, holding up a giant cross she had tucked away in her belt. Xander and Willow backed away.   
  
"No fair," whined Willow.   
  
Buffy and Spike backed away, step by step, and then just ran for it.   
  
"Till next time, Slayer," Xander called after her. "But there will come a time when all the crosses and holy water in the world won't be able to save you."   
  
Xander started leading Willow back to their place at the club formerly known as The Bronze. Meanwhile, Buffy and Spike were headed back to Spike's big mansion.   
  
Buffy held Spike's hand in hers, and her stake in the other. She started to cry, so Spike stopped and held her.   
"I can't do this, Spike. It's never gonna be like it was before. I can't do this."   
  
"Shh...," he comforted her. "We can do this, they're going to slip up soon, and when they do, we'll be waiting, won't we?"   
  
"A-huh," She sobbed on his shoulder. "But how many people have to die until we get the upper hand?"   
  
* * *  
  
Xander and Willow entered The Bronze. Home sweet home. Chaos ruled and madness was what made the place feel like home.   
  
"Xander, Willow, welcome home, dears." The master vampire spoke, who had reigned since the fall of 1999. As she made her way through the shadows she looked up at them. Black long hair, pale skin, red lips, red gothic dress, she went by the name Drusilla.   
  
* * *  
  
Spike and Buffy made their way over the mansion just before dawn. Everytime Buffy entered into the factory she got flooded with memories, some good, some bad.   
  
She remembered when she fought Angel and sent him to Hell, and when Angel came back to her, only to leave again one final time. She also remembered when she and Angel tricked Faith, she felt sorry for Faith and how she had eventually died at the hands of Xander when he was turned evil. He said it was to make up for how she had used him, but Buffy couldn't keep from thinking that it had only been a midnight snack for him.   
  
"Buffy, you ok?" Spike asked her in a familiar British voice.   
  
She woke from her reverie "Yeah, sorry about that."   
  
Spike started a fire in the big antique fireplace, he couldn't feel hot or cold but thought it would make Buffy feel a little better. He sighed, knowing the pain that his girlfriend went through on a daily basis. "You thinkin' about the past again, weren't you?" He sat down on the sofa, putting his feet up on the coffee table.   
  
Buffy went into the kitchen and returned with a glass of cow's blood for Spike. "I try not to, you know, but the memories are stuck in my head." She sat down, gave the glass to Spike, and laid down against his chest.   
  
"Don't worry, luv." Spike said "You'll have more time to make more memories when we win."   
  
"It's not gonna happen is it?"   
  
"What's not?"   
  
"We're not gonna win, we're going to die fighting, and this world is going to die with us." She tried to fall asleep.   
  
* * *  
  
"So, then she just got away." Xander finished telling his story to the Master, while she sat in her usual chair. They were in the main room of the club, but a little removed from the other vampires.   
  
"You just let the slayer get away?!" Drusilla gripped the arms of the chair with her finger nails, getting angrier by the minute.   
  
"But she didn't play fair." Willow trying to excuse her behavior.   
  
Drusilla grabbed Willow by her ruby-colored hair, and stood up. "You're pathetic," She said as she chucked her half way across the room. "And you." She turned to Xander. "The next time you meet up with the Slayer, less talk, more killing," She had had enough of these incompetent work hands. Even her best vampires could not destroy Slayer.   
She stalked out of the main room and walked up the stairs to the second floor of The Bronze and looked down to the main floor, leaning on the balcony.   
  
With all the vampires she had to order around and all the evil she had introduced to the world, the slayer was still bothering her. It annoyed Drusilla, the way Buffy kept going, not stopping, not giving up even when others would have. It was degrading, making Dru feel inadequate. It was just inconceivable that the girl could still hold her head up, and continue slaying.   
  
Drusilla snorted, "You just wait, Buffy Summers, you'll get what's coming to you."   
  
Just then an old and graying vampire came over to her. He was the prophecy keeper, the one who warned her of possible threats. "Ma'am, we have a slight problem."   
  
"What is it?" She asked with her head on her crossed arms while leaning on the balcony.   
  
"A new slayer."   
  
* * *  
  
Buffy awoke in Spike's arms, later that day. He was sleeping and so she slowly and quietly got up off the couch. She had things to do, researching to do before the night came.   
  
First on her to-do list was the meeting at the old school library. Oz and some other would be there, awaiting details of the night before, and perhaps the next step in their plan of action.   
  
Buffy showered and ate a good breakfast. Then she left and walked into the sunlight filled streets of the small town. Looking at her wrist watch, she noticed it was half past noon.   
  
She relaxed and actually started to enjoy her short walk to the school. It was daylight, the calm before the night's storm. Vampires couldn't bother her for another six or seven hours.   
  
She strolled up to the front entrance of the school building. Once inside she headed left to the library.   
  
* * *  
  
An hour later, Buffy, Oz and a few others were crowded around the long oak library table. Archaic mystic books were laid out on the table surface, ready to be of use when the need arose.   
  
"We need a plan, Buffy," Oz said. Buffy agreed, she admired him a great deal. They had gone through so much together, but Oz had stayed somewhat hopeful and ever helpful. He had seen his girlfriend die and come back as an evil member of the undead, and yet his peace of mind remained, it was a mystery to Buffy.   
  
The next minute, the double doors of the library swung open. The group looked up from their work and towards the doorway. A young woman about fifteen years old with dark ebony skin, and black braided hair was followed by a lady who looked older and more dignifed.   
  
"Hey guys," She held up a stake, non-threateningly. "I'm Dani, the vampire slayer. I heard you need some help here in Sunnydale."   
  
* * *  
  
Over at The Bronze, Willow was in her bedroom, alone with Xander. He was sitting in a chair planning and plotting the slayer's death when Willow drifted over to him.   
  
She knelt on the floor in front of him, putting her head on his lap. "Drusilla was mean to me." She wanted him to make it all better, like he always did.   
  
"Willow, do me a favor, don't think about her right now," he said pulling her up and on top of him. "Try thinking about me."   
  
She wrapped herself around him as they started making out. Their lips kissed each others bodies as they ripped their clothes off. "Good plan," Willow replied in between excitable romance.   
  
* * *  
  
"You must be the slayer that was called after Faith died," Buffy was a little shocked by the arrival of two new allies, but was extremely happy.   
  
"Actually," The older woman who had came in with Dani started, "There was one other slayer after Faith, but she unfortunately passed away after only a week."   
  
"And who are you?" Buffy asked.   
  
"The last of the watcher's counsel. Olivia Kurtis."   
  
"Last of the watcher's counsel?" Buffy hoped it did not mean what she thought it did.   
  
Olivia looked at the floor, wracked with grief but containing it within herself. Then she spoke, and confirmed Buffy's fears "The others were killed by vampires, in an invasion about two years ago, She shook her red curly hair. It was horrible. I don't know how I made it out alive. After that, I found Dani in Africa, found out she was the newest slayer and have been plotting our course of action ever since."   
  
Dani sat down in an empty seat. "So what do we do now?" She looked up at her watcher. So far, the plan had only been to come to Sunnydale, and help the slayer that was there. Not much of a battle plan, but Olivia usually did the planning, leaving Dani to follow them through.   
  
"I suggest we get to the heart of the problem and try to get to The Master," Olivia answered.   
  
"Look we appreciate you coming and all, but we've been trying to do that for five years now. Why do you think you're gonna be able to do it?" Janet crossed her arms. She thought it was ridiculous for a person who had not been there with them fighting, and who had no idea what was going on could solve everyone's problems so quickly.   
  
"Hey," Trevor told Janet, "If she thinks she has a plan to stop The Master then let her go for it." He looked at Olivia   
  
"So, what's your plan?"   
  
"No plan as of yet." Olivia said wearily.   
  
Dani flicked one of her black braids back over her shoulder. "Anybody know where the vampire's primary hideout is in Sunnydale?"   
  
"The Bronze," Oz answered her.   
  
"Fine, I'll go check it out. Dani stood up, starting for the door. "I'll be back before sunset."   
  
"Be careful," Oz told her.   
  
"I will," Dani looked back over her shoulder, smiling at him.   
  
Buffy quickly stood up "I'm coming." She didn't wan't Dani rushing into anything she couldn't handle. "But we gotta go back to my place to get my bag of supplies."   
  
"Alright," Dani agreed and the two slayers made their way out of the library.   
  
* * *  
  
"So, you've had this slayer's gig for almost ten years?" Dani asked as they neared the mansion.   
  
"Almost." The blond answered,"And you've been doing this for...?" She waited for the other girl to finish the sentence.   
  
"Only a year. Since I was fourteen."   
  
"You're young," Buffy pointed out as she opened the door to the mansion.   
  
Dani shrugged, "I guess, but I've grown up fast," She entered the dim living room.   
  
"Buffy," Spike smiled as her walked into the living room, greeting her.   
  
"Hi Spike," She called out as she left the living room and went into the bedroom.   
  
"Who are you?" Spike asked the new slayer.   
  
"Dani Iniko, I'm a vampire slayer,"   
  
"More help. That's good. This place could use it. I'm..."   
  
"William the Bloody. Also known as Spike."   
  
"Heard of me?"   
  
"I studied. The Slayer's Handbook said you were a dangerous vampire, Drusilla's love interest."   
  
"I used to be." Spike said with regret in his voice.   
  
"Dani, ready to go?" Buffy came back out of the bedroom carrying a gym bag that was filled with stakes, holy water, and other slaying supplies.   
  
"Yeah, I guess so," Dani replied. "See you later, Spike." She waved and then followed Buffy out to the streets.   
  
* * *  
  
Xander and Willow laid, wrapped around each other, on Willow's canopy bed. Their clothes were in piles around the room.   
  
Xander reclined against a big pillow, as he held his girlfriend. She rested on his chest, catching her breath.   
  
"You're thinking about her again." Willow was annoyed with his obsession over the slayer.   
  
"No, baby, I wasn't."   
  
"You always think about her." Willow sat up, mad.   
  
"Willow," Xander sat up next to her. "You're all I care about, really. Besides, the slayer will be dead soon enough."   
  
"Will you kill her for me?" Willow asked excitably.   
  
"I'd do anything for you, baby." Xander knocked her down again, as they started making love again.   
  
* * *  
  
"So, why exactly are you and Spike working together?" Dani asked Buffy as she fiddled with her stake.   
Buffy laughed a little. "Me and Spike are a little more than just 'working together'... we're kind of in 'dating mode'."   
  
"But he doesn't have a soul."   
  
"You noticed?" Buffy sighed. "I don't even know how this whole me-dating-Spike thing started. We used to have this love-hate thing going on, but it soon faded into just love. It's pretty bizarre, a slayer dating a vampire, but I've done it before..."   
  
"With Angel." Dani finished for her.   
  
"How'd you know that?" Buffy asked her.   
  
"Olivia." Dani answered, "She told me some weird stories about you... well, not weird but... um, I'll shut up now..."   
  
Buffy shrugged,"My life's been weird, and I accept that."   
  
They approached the building formerly known as the hottest club in Sunnydale. Buffy climbed up the emergency fire ladder that led to the roof, and behind her followed Dani.   
  
"We should be safe," Buffy looked at her watch when she reached the top of the building. "We've got three more hours till sunset according to my watch."   
  
Dani pulled herself up onto the roof. "Wow, it's that late? I think I still have jet lag." She walked over to the sky roof window and peered down into The Bronze and the sea of dangerous vamps.   
  
"The planes are still running in the rest of the world?" Buffy asked, joining Dani by the window.   
  
"No," She sighed, the world had really gone down the drain ever since the vampires had taken over. "But Olivia has a pilots license, a cool but small plane."   
  
Buffy continued looking down into the mess of the undead. They were having their own little party, planning for the night, when they would come out again. It made Buffy shudder.   
  
"Ya know, I betcha if we took a bulldozer to this place, we could kill a bunch of them with the help of the sunlight."   
Buffy laughed, "You've got a strange imagination."   
  
"Don't I know it."   
  
* * *  
  
"That's it!," Olivia smiled as she made a breakthrough in the library. She stood up from the table and went over by a stack of books.   
  
"What's it?" Sheila asked.   
  
Olivia found the book she needed and pulled it out of the pile. Moving over to the table she dropped the old musty book on it. "The spell of restoration," Olivia flipped through the pages, trying to find the right one.   
  
"The one Willow did for Angel," Oz remembered that day in the hospital with a pang of guilt. He always felt guilt when he thought of her. She had been everything to him, but he let her be taken one fateful night. Everyone said it wasn't his fault, but he still felt guilty.   
  
"Oh, no." Olivia grimaced.   
  
"What's wrong?" Janet knew everything couldn't be fixed with a simple spell.   
  
"Well, it says here we need an Orb of Thesula. Plus, we can only do it for one person at a time."   
  
"Well, keep trying. I think you might be on to something here." Trevor helpfully offered.   
  
* * *  
  
"Yes!" Dani screamed as she and Buffy threw a park bench through one of the windows of the Bronze, breaking it. It shattered and sunlight poured in the opening, killing some of the unlucky vampires that had been standing by the window. The others pushed their way into the middle of the room away from the windows.   
  
"Dani, the sun's starting to set. We should get out of here," Buffy told her.   
  
"Oh, come on, let's break just one more window." Dani pleaded.   
  
"Let's go, Dani!" Buffy shouted as she began heading in the direction of the high school.   
  
"Oh!" The dark skinned teenager pouted. "I was just starting to have fun." She turned to some of the vampires that she could see through the gap made by the broken window, shouting, "I'll be back, later"   
  
"We'll be waiting, Slayer." Drusilla answered her and then went to get a bite to eat from one of the human captives they kept in the basement of The Bronze.   
  
* * *  
  
"There's a new slayer?" Willow asked Xander. They were sitting on the old bar stools of the club.   
  
"Drusilla hasn't told anyone yet, but it's obvious." Xander was planning his nightly attack.   
  
Willow noted, "She's acting strange."   
  
Xander nodded. "Yeah, she has, I'm going to go have a talk with her. I'll see you in a while." He kissed her on the check.   
  
"Hurry back," Willow called after him.   
  
* * *  
  
The two slayers reached the library just after twilight "Hi, guys." Buffy said as she entered, but she only saw Oz at the table.   
  
"You're awfully cheery." Trevor said from the book cage. He was looking through some old manuscripts.   
  
"Am I? I hadn't noticed." Buffy replied.   
  
She looked at Sheila who was sleeping near the stairs, and Janet who has sleeping by the stacks. She smiled for them, it wasn't often they got a chance to nap.   
  
Just then, Spike walked through the library doors. At that moment, Olivia walked out of the office that once belonged to Giles. She held up a crossbow she had been cleaning. "Prepare to be dusted, vampire." She said as she aimed the crossbow at his heart.   
  
Dani cursed in African, "No! He's an ally."   
  
Spike held up his hands in mock surrender. "Bloody hell, aren't you humans ever gonna forget what I did?"   
  
"Why are we working with a vampire?" Olivia asked, dropping the crossbow to her side.   
  
"Long story," Buffy replied.   
  
Spike walked over to Buffy and wrapped his arms around her. "But you can trust me." Olivia looked at him wearily.   
  
"Oh, hey, look." Trevor said, trying to change the subject. "I think I found the page you were looking for."   
  
Olivia put the crossbow back in Giles' office and then went over to Trevor. "Let me see it."   
  
Trevor handed it to her. She started reading it as Buffy and Spike sat down.   
  
"This is it! This is it!," Olivia shouted. "Thank you Trevor"   
  
Janet sleepily stood at the balcony, over looking the scene. "Did Olivia find something again?" She rubbed sleep from her eyes, and sarcastically added, "You know, you don't have to shout every time you find something."   
  
Olivia narrowed her eyes at her. Then she returned to her reading. The script on the piece of paper was in Latin, but she was an excelled reader in most languages. "Now we have a few more choices."   
  
"Care to fill this slayer in?" Buffy questioned.   
  
"Ah, yes, you were gone before."   
  
"We found some spells," Oz explained.   
  
"One spell," Olivia said pointing to a book on the table. "One option, is the Spell of Restoration. The one that was used to restore Angel's soul. I could change the wording to include this whole town, or state, or country, if I had an Orb of Thessula, of course. But then we would have a bunch of half-humans running around, a whole half-human race of immortals. I don't know if that's very practical, and we need supplies for it."   
  
"What's the other spell do?" Buffy asked.   
  
"Kill all vampires within a um...," She did some quick math in her head. "A fifty mile radius."   
  
"I'm not exactly liking that one." Spike told her.   
  
"Yes, the problem with this one is that most of the human race are vampires at this point. There would be no chance of redeeming them," Olivia was at a standstill with her research.   
  
"So, big diff. They're dead now," Dani shrugged.   
  
"But there is a moral and ethical issue concerning this spell," Olivia answered.   
  
"I thought the watcher's counsel wasn't into saving vampires?" Buffy remembered the time before she graduated high school when the counsel refused to save Angel.   
  
"Olivia rarely goes by the counsel's rules," Dani smiled.   
  
"Why can't you combine the spells?" Oz offered.   
  
"Yeah," Trevor said unsure of the idea but still for it. "Can you do that?"   
  
"I suppose." The watcher was glad she was working with such a clever group of people. "The thought had crossed my mind."   
  
"And meanwhile... me and Dani are going to do some slaying. You coming Spike?" Buffy kissed him on the side of his face.   
  
"Wouldn't miss it." He answered.   
  
* * *  
  
Xander and Drusilla were alone, "This new slayer should not be a problem, so just take care of her." She spoke.   
  
"It is an honor to serve you master," Xander said through gritted teeth, not meaning it.   
  
"You're angry at me." Drusilla read his thoughts.   
  
"Forgive me master, it's just that you've been acting strangly lately."   
  
Drusilla brushed her hand across his cheek, "Don't you trust me, Xander?"   
  
"Of course, I'm just wondering if you have our best interests in mind" Xander replied.   
  
"Trust me, Xander, if you help me, I'll help you. You've got work to do tonight." Drusilla walked away from him.   
Xander groaned to himself he said, "I'm really getting sick of this." He walked back over to the bar, meeting up with Willow. She ran over to him when she noticed him.   
  
"You're upset." She remarked.   
  
"No, I'm fine." He lied. "I'm going out." He left her without saying another word. He was pissed off, getting ordered around was not something he liked.   
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, in the park, Buffy, Spike, and Dani were busy dusting some vamps.   
  
Buffy shoved a stake through one vampire's heart. "Anybody know the score?"   
  
"Slayers 12; vampires zero," Dani replied a few feet away from her, busy with another vampire.   
  
"Pretty good for one night," said Spike as he staked another one.   
  
"Make that slayers, and Spike, 13; Vampires zero." Buffy smiled.   
  
Dani saw an old looking vampire a few yards away so she ran over, trying to not let any of them escape.   
  
"Hey, you, don't run away," Dani shouted as she ran away," Dani shouted as she ran over to the male vamp.   
She reached him, but was quickly thrown to the ground by the evil creature.   
  
"Pathetic Slayer," The vamp grunted. He looked at her. "Oh, you a nigger too." He said in southern drawl. "In my day you would have been working on my farm as a slave."   
  
"Times have changed." Dani said, still on the dirt ground, looking up at him. To herself, she thought 'only thing worse than a vampire is a racist'.   
  
"Pity." The vampire took his right foot and put it on Dani's neck, pinning her down. He started choking her, as she stared in horror.   
  
Just as she was about to black out, her neck was released and dust fell onto her. Above her stood Spike, offering her a hand.   
  
Dani took his hand as he helped her up. "Thank you." Spike nodded. They walked over to Buffy.   
  
"I think we got them all." Buffy sighed.   
  
"So, where to now?" Dani asked.   
  
"The Bronze?" Buffy suggested.   
  
"Let's go." Dani was excited with the prospect of doing some more slaying. Like Faith had been, Dani was an adrenaline junkie.   
  
* * *  
  
Sheila and Janet were reading some of the old papers and books that had once belonged to Giles, while leaning against a bookcase. It was the middle of the night and they were almost half asleep. Their mission was the only thing that kept them awake at such a late hour.   
  
"Do you think Olivia's going to be able to get one of those spells to work."   
  
"No," Janet said, clearly not convinced with Olivia's skills.   
  
"Why don't you give her a chance?" Sheila asked.   
  
"I just don't like the way she prances in here, trying to replace Giles."   
  
Sheila sighed. "She's not trying to replace Giles, she just wants to help."   
  
"Whatever."   
  
* * *  
  
Buffy, Dani, and Spike reached the Bronze. They peered into the broken window from a fairly safe distance. It looked pretty empty.   
  
"Ok, the plan is we go in, we kick a little ass, me and Dani will go to the basement and get the people, and Spike, you'll be the lookout."   
  
"Alright," Dani agreed.   
  
"Works for me," Spike nodded.   
  
Buffy kicked open the front door and entered. She was followed by the others. "It's deserted in here," She noted.   
  
"Not a good sign, but it works."   
  
Buffy and Dani opened a door and followed the cement stairs to the basement. Once down there Buffy looked around, trying to find the key to the makeshift cage, so she could let the vampire's prisoners free. They were the lucky, another day or two and they would have been late night snacks for the vamps.   
  
She couldn't find a key so instead she kicked at one of the wooden two-by-four's that made up the cage. Dani helped her and after awhile they knocked 4 of the pieces of wood down, making a door.   
  
The couple of dozen people in there started cheering, and thanking the two slayers for setting them free.   
  
* * *  
  
Upstairs Spike was standing in the front doorway, acting as a lookout when he spotted a large group of vamps headed for The Bronze. He came inside and shut the door. The lock was broken, so he had to lean against it.   
  
"Buffy, we have a problem!" He shouted towards the basement. Buffy froze, "Aw Shit! You guys stay down here." She and Dani ran up the stairs and prepared for another battle.   
  
* * *  
  
Meanwhile, across town at the high school library, Olivia was beginning a spell that she had just finished writing.   
"Janet, Trevor, light the candles now, please."   
  
Olivia stood in the middle of a circle of candles, holding an orb while Janet and Trevor started lighting the tall black candles. Olivia had rewritten the spell so that all the vampires living in Sunnydale and some other surrounding towns would be made human once again.   
  
Sheila and Oz stood off to the side. "I hope this works," Oz said quietly.   
  
"Me too," Sheila replied.   
  
"Quod perditum est, in venietur," Olivia started chanting in Latin.   
  
* * *  
  
"So much for this place being deserted," Dani said as she delivered a low kick to Willow. The Bronze had broken out into a chaos of fighting just minutes before. The two slayers had done their best to hold their own in the fight, with Spike's help, but it was getting ugly.   
  
Over at the far end of the former club, Spike came face to face with Drusilla. He was startled for a second, but recovered quickly, punching her across the face. The force of the blow knocked her down to the ground.   
  
"Dru? You're the Master Vampire now?" He asked as she got back up on her feet.   
  
Drusilla looked at him and grinned, "That's right, look at how much better the world is under my rule." She backed him against a wall, and seductively asked, "Why don't you join me?"   
  
"Something's wrong here." Spike said. He pushed her away from him.   
  
"What are you talking about," a hint of denial tinged her voice.   
  
Spike finally figured out what had been bothering him. Looking straight at her he questioned her, "Who are you?"   
  
"What?" Dru looked innocently confused.   
  
"You're not Dru, you don't act like her, and I would know, I was with her for over 2 centuries."   
  
Drusilla laughed insanely, "It's amazing what some plastic surgery and Drusilla's legacy has brought me - I killed her, stole her name, stole her face.."   
  
Spike punched her hard across her face, "You stupid Bitch, I loved her!," He punched her in her gut, but she quickly blocked his attack. "Who are you?"   
  
The imposter looked at him, "Adriana, her sister." She wanted him to join her still, he was the only thing, missing from her counterfeit front. "She didn't even care about you Spike, you're so better than her... join me."   
  
Spike held up his stake, ready to kill her. "Goodbye Adriana, see you in hell." And without a second more hesitation he drove the wooden stake into her heart.   
  
He looked over towards the slayers to see how they were doing. The battle wasn't going well, if things didn't improve they were going to have to retreat.   
  
Xander tried to stab Buffy with a knife he had found on the floor, but she blocked him, knocking the knife out of his hand. It sailed through the air, getting lodged in the wall.   
  
Then, unexpectedly, there was a bright intense flash of white light. "What the hell?" Buffy thought, trying to see what was going on. After the light there was a powerful gust of wind coming from an unknown source; it knocked everyone to the floor.   
  
The Bronze was restored to normal after a minute, though nobody knew exactly what had happened. "I think Olivia's spell worked," Buffy spoke slowly.   
  
"Am I wearing leather?" Buffy heard Willow ask. Not vampire Willow, but the real Willow; the human Willow.   
Buffy smiled.   
  
* * *  
  
The following day, at the town park, in bright sunlight Spike and Buffy laid on the grass next to each other, basking in the beautiful sunlight.   
  
"This is just too much," Spike spoke overwhelmed, "I forgot what the sun felt like. Its so bloody good to be human again."   
  
A slight breeze whispered through the oak trees, as the leaves fluttered.   
  
Buffy felt like crying, but tears of joy instead of sorrow. She was with her boyfriend in the sunlight, her friends were human again, it filled her with this amazing feeling of relief.   
  
Still, there were plenty of other vampires roaming around the world, but at least Sunnydale was somewhat normal once again.   
  
Spike blew gently in Buffy's hair, "I have breath," he was pleasantly surprised. Buffy grinned at him, knowing this must be a huge change for him. He was getting a second chance, as was most of Sunnydale's population.   
  
He took her hand in his and brought it to his chest, "You feel that? My heart's beating again, you know what it's saying 'Buf-fy, Buf-fy, Buf-fy" He said along to the rhythm of the beating of his heart.   
  
"Spike: the closet romantic." Buffy teased him. Her voice turned serious as she confessed, "I'm so happy, Spike. I haven't been this happy in a long time. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Buffy touched her lips with his and he returned the passion.   
  
After a few minutes Buffy sat up. "What's wrong?" Spike asked.   
  
"I promised Olivia and Dani that I'd meet them at the library before they left Sunnydale."   
  
"Then let's go." Spikes stood up and helped Buffy up as well. They started walking, hand in hand, to the school.   
  
"Now that I'm human again, I'm gonna live like a saint, no more mister bad guy."   
  
Buffy started giggling, "Are you serious?"   
  
"No."   
  
"That's why I love you." She kissed him on the cheek.   
  
* * *  
  
Buffy and Spike walked into the library. Dani and Olivia were there saying good-byes to Oz, Sheila, Trevor, and Janet.   
  
"Oh, Buffy, you're here!" Dani smiled.   
  
Buffy and her hugged, "Thank you for your help Dani. You're a great slayer, take care of yourself."   
  
Dani picked up her bag from the counter, "I will, have fun here, with Spike... Olivia and I are going to perform the spell a few more times, then it's back to Africa for me. Olivia's going to come too. We're going to rebuild the Watchers Counsil."   
  
"Really? That's great!," Buffy exclaimed.   
  
"Once we get everything back together, I'm going to change some of our books. Since Spike's on our side now those books are outdated."   
  
Buffy looked at her boyfriend and smiled broadly.   
  
"Buffy, I assume you can handle things for yourself here in Sunnydale for a year or two until we send you a new watcher?" Olivia asked.   
  
"Yeah, sure, been on my own for awhile. I've got my friends, so, I'll be fine."   
  
"We'll keep in touch," Olivia grinned, happy that her work was done. Looking at her slayer, she said, "Come along, Dani, we have things to do." They walked out of the library's double doors while Buffy and her friends watched them go.   
  
After a moment, Buffy looked at everyone, "I can't believe we did it!"   
  
"We won." Oz added simply.   
  
"Hey, did you see Xander or Willow yet?" Janet asked looking past Buffy towards the door.   
  
"No, there was so much confusion at the club last night, they left in a hurry." Buffy seemed saddened at the fact she hadn't run into them yet. "Why?"   
  
Janet pointed to the doors, "Someone's here to see you."   
  
The others turned their attention to the doors. Xander was standing there. Just listening to the conversation, trying to figure out when to make an appearance, when he noticed everyone was looking at him.   
Slowly, he opened the door. "Um.. Buffy?"   
  
Buffy ran over to him, thrilled that he was back. Jumping up, she threw her arms around him, squeezing him in a strong embrace. "Oh my god, Xander!" Not realizing it, she began to cry.   
  
He wasn't as lively or witty as he once had been, the years of being a vampire had changed him quite a bit. Still, he was happy to see familiar faces once again. "I'm sorry." He said simply.   
  
"It's not your fault, Xander."   
  
"You sure you're not mad at me?"   
  
"Of course I'm not." Buffy replied.   
  
A minute later, he said, "Willow's taking this worse than me."   
  
Willow, who had followed Xander to the school, entered the library doors. "But I'll get through it."   
  
Buffy ran over to her. "Willow!" They hugged.   
  
"I've missed you Buffy." Willow was enjoying being human again, but it was still weird.   
  
"Wow, is this the first recorded happy ending? I thought life was supposed to be harder than this." Janet interjected.   
  
"I think this would count as a happy ending" Oz agreed "...or a happy beginning."   
  
THE END   
  



End file.
